Jesus then came into Galilee announcing the good news from God. All the preliminaries have been taken care of, and the rule of God is now accessible to everyone. Review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity. Dallas Willard's paraphrase of Mark 1:15.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Here's an excerpt from an article from Bankrate on tips to de-commercialize Christmas.

For many people, Christmas means a severe case of holiday dread, directly tied to a sense of obligation to spend money in order to have a meaningful celebration.

We all know the pain of those credit card bills in January and February. If we've been particularly festive, that pain might even stretch into the spring or summer, or -- yikes -- the next holiday season.

This year the average U.S. consumer plans to spend $817 on holiday-related shopping, plus an additional $107 on "non-gift" purchases of promoted or discounted items, according to the National Retail Federation -- up 3.7 percent from 2006.

At the same time, however, 70 percent of Americans say they would welcome less emphasis on gift giving and spending during the holiday season, according to the Center for a New American Dream.

If you're among those who feel holiday spending is out of control, remember: It doesn't have to be that way. You can start new family traditions or return to some abandoned long ago.